Jan292013

Announcement of Finance Team Follows Support From State Republican Political Leadership

“As senator and governor, Lamar Alexander has been standing up for Tennessee and we are ready to stand up for him.”

-- Steve Smith, Alexander for Senate Finance Chairman

Nashville, January 29—Senator Lamar Alexander’s re-election campaign today announced four Tennessee events that state finance chairman Steve Smith predicted will raise more than $3 million.

“As governor and as senator, Lamar Alexander has been standing up for Tennessee and we are ready to stand up for him,” Smith said. “The $3 million we expect to raise when added to our $1 million on hand will give the senator $4 million to start his campaign. We then will raise whatever we need to raise to make sure Lamar is able to communicate his message and continue to represent Tennesseans.”

This follows Alexander’s announcement on December 1 that Congressman Jimmy Duncan will be his campaign chairman and that his campaign co-chairmen will be Governor Bill Haslam, Senator Bob Corker, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, Speaker Beth Harwell as well as Congressmen Blackburn, Roe, Black, Fincher and Fleischmann.

The first finance event will be in Chattanooga in April at the home of Senator Corker. Also that month, Alexander will hold an event in Nashville that will be a “A Salute to Ted Welch,” the former Republican National Finance Committee chairman who will serve as Alexander’s Honorary Finance Chairman. Other events will take place during May in Knoxville and Memphis.

In a recent letter to contributors, Alexander said that Smith and Knoxville businessman Jim Haslam have recruited ten Tennesseans to join “The Welch Team” and raise $100,000 each in support of the campaign. His letter said the campaign is recruiting 25 other Tennesseans who will each agree to raise $50,000.